Sliding door structure



March 1964 H. P. HARLE SLIDING DOOR STRUCTURE Filed Dec. 28, 1961 INVENTOR.

P. HARLE HAROLD BY W H \s ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,1217% SEEING DGGR STRUiZ'iURE Harold P. Harie, Louisville, Ky, assignor to General Electric Qompany, a corporation of New York Filed Dec. 28, 1961, Sea. No. 162,733 1 Claim. {CL 2ill9} The present invention relates to a sliding door structure and is more particularly concerned with an ii rproved closure structure comprising a pair of sliding doors for closing the access opening to a refrigerator cabinet or the like.

It is an object of the present invention to provide means for closing the access opening to a cabinet or the like comprising a pair of sl ding doors which are positioned in the same plane and in side-by-side relationship when in their closed position and improved means for guiding the movement of either one of the doors in its travel between its closed position and an open position in which it is positioned in front of the other of the doors.

Another object of the nvention is to provide an improved means for mounting a pair of sliding doors comprising pins carried by the doors, interconnected grooves for slidably receiving the pins controlling the opening and closing movement of either of the doors and guide means associated with the interconnected grooves for directing the travel of the pins during opening or closing movement of one or the other of the doors.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the features of novelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claim annexed to and forming part of this specification in carrying out the objects of the present invention there are provided a pair of sliding doors for closing the access opening toa cabinet or the like and means for supporting the doors with reference to the access opening for movement of either door between a closed position in which both doors are the same plane and in side-by-side relationship and an open position in which the open door is in front of and parallel to the other. The support means which guides or directs the movement of either door between its closed and open positions comprises track plates mounted above and below the access opening and including interconnected track grooves in which pins carried by the doors are adapted to slide. Each track plate includes a main groove extending substantially the width of the access opening and generally parallel to the cabinet face portion defining that opening and terminating at its opposite ends in rearwardiy inclined end portions. On each side of the midpoint of the main track groove, that is, on each side of the point at which the inner edges of the doors meet when in their closed positions, there is provided a rearwardly extending relatively short groove communicating with the main groove. The pins carried by each door are adapted to ride in appropriate portions of the main groove or in one or the other of the rearwardly extending grooves for guiding and supporting the door in its various positions. During movement of either door between its closed and opened positions, certain of the pins carried by that door are arranged to move into or out of one of the rearwardly extending grooves and guide means are provided for the purpose of guiding or directing the movement of such pins.

Another aspect of the present invention is the provision of a sliding door structure including magnetic means for drawing the doors to their closed positions and for maintaining the doors in sealing engagement with a cabinet face portion.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference 3,l,22,795 Patented Mar. 3, 1964 may be had to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of a portion of a refrigerator cabinet including the sliding door structure of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken generally along the line 2 2 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 33 of FIGURE 2.

While the sliding door structure of the present invention is applicable to the closing of the access openings to various cabinets and the like, it will be particularly described in connection with a preferred embodiment thereof particularly designed for closing an access opening to a refrigerator cabinet which involves the additional problem of sealing the space between the doors and the face portion or" the cabinet when the doors are closed.

With reference to the drawing, there is shown in FF- URE l a portion of a refrigerator cabinet including an upper storage compartment of the general shape of a kitchen wall cabinet and closed by means of a pair of doors 1 and a lower storage compartment closed by means of a pair of doors 2 and having the general shape of a counter type of kitchen cabinet. The top surface 3 of this lower portion of the cabinet forms a counter or work surface corresponding to the usual counter or work surface in an ordinary kitchen cabinet arrangement. Positioned between the upper and lower storage compartments and having a face portion recessed with reference to the face portion of the upper storage compartment is an intermediate compartment having an access opening 5 which is closed by means of a pair of sliding doors 6 and 7, which doors and their mounting structure form the subject matter of the present invention.

in order that movement of the doors 6 and 7 will not interfere with normal use of the work surface 3, the sliding doors 6 and 7 are arranged so that either one can be moved horizontally from its closed position in which both doors are in side-by-side relationship and in the same vertical plane to an open position in which one of the doors is in front of the other door.

As is more clearly shown in FIGURE 3 of the drawing the doors 6 and '7 are mounted in the recessed area between the bottom wall to of the upper storage compartment and the work surface 3 forming the top Wall of the lower compartment. In accordance with the usual refrigerator cabinet practice the doors are of double wall construction including an outer panel ii, and an inner panel 12, the space between these panels being filled with suitable heat insulating material 1 The doors are of a size such that their peripheral edges overlie or overlap the face portion 15' of the cabinet surrounding the access opening 5 and a suitable gasket 1'7 is provided on each of the doors for sealing the space betweenthe doors and the cabinet face portion 15.

in the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the access opening 5 is divided into two sections by a vertical mullion 16 adapted to bridge the space between the doors 6 and '7 when in their closed position. However, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the use of the mullion 16 since this space can be sealed by means of a gasket or gaskets carried by the opposed inner edges 13 and 19 of the respective doors 6 and 7.

For mounting the doors for horizontal sliding movement of either one of them between a closed position in which both of the doors are in the same plane and in sealing engagement with the face portion of the cabinet surrounding the access opening 4 and an open position in which the open door is in front of the closed door, there is provided a mounting means in the form of track plates 29 and 2th: respectively secured to the cabinet above and either door to its closed position as the inner pins carried thereby travel into one of the rearwardly extending grooves 26 and 27. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, this action is obtained by employing a gasket 17 which includes a permanent magnet material 50 carried in the face portion of the gasket and by forming the face portion 15 of the cabinet being engaged by the gasket face portion of a magnetically attractable material such as steel or the like. The magnetic gasket may extend about the four sides of the door as in the illustrated embodiment of the invention or at least along the upper and bottom edges of the door in the event the mullion 16 is omitted. The attraction between the magnets 50 and the face portion 15 of the cabinet will cause the magnetic gasket to come into sealing engagement with the cabinet along its entire length. During closing movement of either of the doors, the first portion of the magnetic gasket which comes into contact with the face portion of the cabinet is the vertically extending section 51 on the outer edge 38 and the adjacent portions of the gasket on the top and bottom edges of the door. When this portion of the door structure is attracted into engagement with the cabinet face portion, the intermediate portions of the magnetic gasket extending along the top and bottom edges of the door are progressively closer to the face portion of the cabinet adjacent the outer edges of the door even though the inner edge for example edge 19 of the door 7 is still spaced a substantial distance from the cabinet face. There is thus a tendency for the gasket 5% and hence the door to which it is attached to be pulled inwardly by the magnetic attraction between the magnets and the face portion of the cabinet. These attractive forces progressively come into action from the outer to the inner edge of the door ultimately causing the entire door structure to pull inwardly to its closed position.

While there has been shown and described a specific embodiment of the present invention it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto and is intended by the appended claim to cover all modifications coming within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

In a cabinet having a magnetic face portion defining an access opening to said cabinet;

a pair of sliding doors for closing said access opening.

means for mounting said doors for horizontal sliding movement of either one of said doors between a closed position in which both of said doors are in the same plane with their inner edges in side-by-side relationship and their upper and lower edges overlapping said cabinet face portion and an open position in which one of said doors overlies the other of said doors in parallel relationship therewith,

said mounting means comprising track plates respectively mounted above and below said access opening and having track grooves therein and inner and outer pins carried by the upper and lower edges of said doors for sliding movement in said grooves,

each of said track plates including a main track groove having its major portion parallel to said cabinet face portion and its opposite ends inclined rearwardly toward said face portion and terminating in rearwardly extending end portions and a pair of spaced rearwardly extending grooves on opposite sides of the point at which the inner edges of said doors meet when in the closed position for receiving said inner pins when said doors are closed,

and a magnetic gasket mounted adjacent the upper and lower edges of said doors for engaging said cabinet face portion when said doors are closed, said magnetic gasket progressively attracting said doors to their closed positions when said outer pins enter said rearwardly extending end portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS (1st addition to No. 1,091,303) 

